[RS]

"Astronomers say the rare grouping of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn may not be seen again for a century. "

"may not be seen..??.
C'mon guys, this is astronomy - you know exactly when this will happen again ... and again... and again

[RadioAstronomer]

Thought this may be of interest. :)

[southernnorthcarolina]

"Astronomers say the rare grouping of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn may not be seen again for a century."

"may not be seen..."??

C'mon guys, this is astronomy - you know exactly when this will happen again ... and again... and again.

We think alike. I was about to make a post similar to yours. But upon reflection, I think what we have here is an example of the difference between "British English" and "American English." The phrase "may not," in this case, I suspect, was intended to mean "shall not." The word "may" isn't always wishy-washy. For example, you might respond to a child's request to stay out until 2:00 AM with the words "you may not." In such a case, there's nothing equivocal about "may."

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"C'mon guys, this is astronomy - you know exactly when this will happen again ... and again... and again "

Oh, to be sure, the planets will be there in all their glory. But will there be anyone on this one to observe them?

If a tree falls in the forest...

[AdA$tra]

Unless it is cloudy!